Easter at Camp Casey

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Easter at Camp Casey

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 13:11:21 -0700

 

 

http://www.truthout.org/easterincrawford.shtml

 

 

Uniting for Peace and Justice

By Scott Galindez

 

Sunday 16 April 2006

 

As Easter at Camp Casey comes to a close, the overarching theme is

Unity. The lesson learned at Camp Casey this week is that policies of

the Bush administration affect more than just the soldiers and their

families. Of course, they are feeling more than their share of the pain.

 

As Dr. Lowery told the faithful at Camp Casey, " The war supporters

are the same people who are racist, sexist, anti-environment, and

homophobic. " He went on to say that our movements cannot be

fragmented. Together we can redeem the " Soul of America. "

 

The buzz around camp yesterday was a July 4th

take-our-country-back march on Washington. It is too early to know for

sure what will happen, but we will let you know the details as soon as

we get a clearer picture.

 

I'm off to the Anniversary celebration at the Crawford Peace House

.... more video of the past few days will be coming online over the

next few days.

 

Fourteen Arrested at Camp Casey

By Scott Galindez

 

Friday 14 April 2006

 

Daniel Ellsberg and Deedee Miller were among fourteen arrested at

the original Camp Casey for again challenging the new restrictions

passed by McClellan County officials in September. According to an

attorney representing the arrestees, the county did not pass any new

laws, but instead issued an " instruction " to the county on enforcing

already existing state laws of which the group is clearly not in

violation.

 

The fourteen arrived at the original Camp Casey at around 10:30 am

and set up a tent at the side of the road and a couple dozen chairs.

At around 11:30 am the county sheriff pulled up and was informed that

the group intended to stay. The sheriff then informed them that he

would call in more officers and anyone who stayed in the tent would be

arrested.

 

About twenty minutes later, a dozen officers arrived and

immediately issued a warning that if the group did not take down the

tent in ten minutes anyone in the tent would be arrested. The

protesters then erected two more tents. The fourteen arrested took

turns getting into the tents and were arrested one by one in an

orderly fashion.

 

The fourteen have been taken to McClellan County jail for

processing. Following the arrests Ann Wright, one of the eleven

arrested in November, vowed that they will continue to return to the

Crawford location until their right to protest there is restored.

 

The Spirit of Camp Casey

By Scott Galindez

 

Thursday 13 April 2006

 

I am back at Camp Casey for the first time since last August. Many

of the faces are the same. The spirit they brought with them then is

here again.

 

Of course there is Cindy, setting the tone, reaching out and

welcoming everyone as they arrive. Ann Wright keeps everything moving.

Jesse Dyan amplifies the voices running the sound board ... Tamara

Rosenleaf is always on the move, doing something to enhance the

experience. Johnie and all the folks from the Peace House who make

this possible ...

 

Last September I wrote about the spirit of Camp Casey going to

Washington. Today it is back in Crawford.

 

Camp Casey Demands Day in Court

By Scott Galindez

 

Wednesday 12 April 2006

 

I arrived in Waco at 10am and called Deedee Miller, Cindy's

sister. I was prepared to head to Crawford only to find out that

everyone from Camp Casey was headed to Waco. Back in November 2005, 11

of the Camp Casey faithful were arrested for violating new regulations

against parking and gathering on the side of the county roads.

 

None of the arrestees have been charged or had their day in court.

Well, they want their day in court ... Cindy, Deedee, Daniel Ellsberg,

Ann Wright and the others were joined by dozens of protesters on the

steps of the County Courthouse where they demanded their day in court.

 

The protest was very peaceful and spirited. A few counter

protesters showed up and were greeted by the group singing God Bless

America. I'm now headed to Crawford for the first time since August

.... Stay tuned ...

 

Don't Attack Iran

By Cindy Sheehan

t r u t h o u t | Perspective

 

Wednesday 12 April 2006

 

Fresh from a resounding victory in Iraq, George Bush swaggered

onto the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and boldly and confidently

declared victory. It was a pretty war, it was a clean war, it looked

stunning in all of its shock and awe. Wow, never was there such a

swift and amazing American victory and it all looked so damn glamorous

on CNN!

 

Read the full article

 

Matriotism

By Cindy Sheehan

t r u t h o u t | Perspective

 

Sunday 22 January 2006

 

Much as I wish I could take credit for the word " Matriotism, "

another woman wrote to me and gave me the concept. I was so intrigued

by the word that I have been meditating on the possible ideology

behind it, and a on new paradigm for true and lasting peace in the world.

 

Before I dive into the concept of Matriotism, let's explore the

word " patriotism. " Dictionary.com defines it as: love of country and

willingness to sacrifice for it. When we all know that patriotism in

the US means: exploiting others' love for country by sending them and

their children off to sacrifice for my bank balance!

 

There have been volumes written about patriotism, defining it,

supporting it, challenging the notion of it, etc. I believe the notion

of patriotism has been expediently and nefariously exploited, and used

to lead our nation into scores of disastrous and needless wars. The

idea of patriotism has virtually wiped out entire generations of our

precious young people and has allowed our nation's leaders to commit

mass murder on an unprecedented scale. The vile sputum of " if you

aren't with us, then you are against us " is basically the epitome of

patriotism gone wild. After the tragedy of 9/11, we were on our way to

becoming a fledgling Matriotic society until our leaders jumped on the

bandwagon of inappropriate and misguided vengeance to send our young

people to die and kill in two countries that were no threat to the USA

or to our way of life. The neocons exploited patriotism to fulfill

their goals of imperialism and plunder.

 

This sort of patriotism begins when we enter kindergarten and

learn the nationalist " Pledge of Allegiance. " It transcends all sense

when we are taught the " Star Spangled Banner, " a hymn to war. In our

history classes the genocide of the Native American peoples is glossed

over as we learn about the spread of American Imperialism over our

continent, though it wasn't named until the 1840s, when the doctrine

of Manifest Destiny was expounded to justify the USA's conquest of and

" civilizing " of Mexican territories and Native American populations.

Manifest Destiny sought to spread the " the boundaries of freedom " to

the American Continent, with the notion that we have a special mission

from God. Sound familiar?

 

All through school, we are brainwashed into believing that somehow

our leaders are always right and certainly have our best interests at

heart when they wave the flag and convince us to hate fellow human

beings who stand in the way of making immense profits from war. As

Samuel Johnson said, patriotism is the " last refuge of scoundrels. "

 

Matriotism is the opposite of patriotism ... not to destroy it,

but to be a yin to its yang, and balance out the militarism of patriotism.

 

Not everyone is a mother, but there is one universal truth that no

one can dispute, no matter how hard they try (and believe me, some

will try): Everyone has a mother! Mothers give life, and if the child

is lucky, mothers nurture life. And if a man has had a nurturing

mother he will already have a base of Matriotism.

 

A Matriot loves his/her country but does not buy into the

exploitive phrase of " My country right or wrong. " (As Chesterton said,

that's like saying, " My mother, drunk or sober. " ) A Matriot knows that

her country can do a lot of things right, especially when the

government is not involved. For example, I know of no other citizens

of any country who are more personally generous than those of America.

However, a Matriot also knows that when her country is wrong, it can

be responsible for murdering thouands upon thousands of innocent and

unsuspecting humans. A true Matriot would never drop an atomic bomb or

bombs filled with white phosphorous, carpet-bomb cities and villages,

or control drones from thousands of miles away to kill innocent men,

women and children.

 

There is one most important thing that Matriots would never do,

mhowever, and this is the key to stopping killing to solve problems: a

Matriot would never send her child or another mother's child to fight

nonsense wars ... and would march into a war herself that she

considered just, to protect her child from harm. Aha! Matriots would

fight their own battles, but take a dim view of having to do so, and

would seldom resort to violence to solve conflict! Patriots cowardly

hide behind the flag and eagerly send young people to die to fill

their own pocketbooks.

 

Women flocked to Camp Casey in August to run the huge enterprise

and work for peace, and women from all over the US and the world have

invited me to visit and speak and advocate for true and lasting peace.

Men who are in touch with the Matriot inside them have also been

important to the cause of eradicating war.

 

Whether you are a male or female Matriot, Code Pink Alert,

endorsed by Gold Star Families for Peace, is calling for an

International Day of Peace on March 8 th ... called for, organized by,

and supported by women. Women and men with Matriotic tendencies can

get more information and endorse the call for peace at:

www.womensaynotowar.org. It is past time for us Matriots to get

together to stridently call for an end to the immoral bloodshed in Iraq.

 

I know one thing from the bottom of my heart. My son Casey, who

was an Eagle Scout and a true American patriot, was not served well by

his idea of patriotism. I will never forgive myself for not trying

harder to counteract the false patriotism he was raised on, with a

true sense of Matriotism.

 

I also know that the women of the world who don't have a voice,

such as the mothers of Iraq who are struggling just to survive in

their needlessly destroyed country, are counting on us women who do

have voices to use them to end George Bush's manifestly idiotic

doctrine of pre-emptive wars of aggression based on the justification

that " I think that country might be dangerous to me and my pals. "

 

War will end forever when we Matriots stand up and say: " No, I am

not giving my child to the fake patriotism of the war machine, which

chews up my flesh and blood to spit out obscene profits. "

 

It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but

rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one

country and mankind its citizens.

-Baha'u'llah

 

Matriotism above all is a commitment to truth and a celebration of

the dignity of all life.

 

 

 

 

 

© : t r u t h o u t 2006